Liverpool has an almost overwhelming physical character...Brooding, slovenly, magnificent, romantic, miserable, tatty, funny, proud, heroic, shameless, tragic, exciting in turns, it's a city that demands a response. Liverpool: Shaping the City is an objective and entertaining assessment of the city's architectural history and recent regeneration, taking the reader on a journey of the city which was once proud and wealthy, then declined into ruin, and is now visibly resurgent. Written by Stephen Bayley, The Observer's architecture and design correspondent, the first two chapters are a personal and eloquent response to Liverpool's world class and often controversial architectural past and recent regeneration. The third chapter showcases thirty of the most critical projects of the last twenty years grouped by building type, including the Tate Liverpool, the Echo Arena and the critically acclaimed Liverpool One masterplan. Beautifully illustrated with photos and plans, this is a valuable and enlightening book for professionals, academics, journalists and anyone interested in understanding the context of the recent regeneration of Liverpool.